Looking at a project truck, need some help

[chicklin]

I'm looking at cheap 1978 3/4 ton Chevy 4x4, 400 ci small block, SM465, NP205 (I think). It's going to be a farm truck so appearance is not an issue (it's ugly), but it needs to run well. Here's what he said needed fixed:

- The heads were rebuilt but since then a couple springs have broken, he thinks the guy might've used old springs or something. How big of a deal are these to replace and what other damage might this have caused?

- He said the locking hubs up front are shot, basically they need to be replaced. They are factory Chevy lockers. How expensive and difficult are these to replace?

- The top of the dash was cracked and rotted (big surprise) so he took it out and it's just bare metal. Not a big deal, but I've heard you can get replacement dash tops. Are these hard to come by?

Other than that, he says everything else works. The outside of the body is solid, crappy inside, some rust through the floor pans, but I don't care much about that. Makes good drain holes .

Anyway, he wants $800, I'm thinking of offering him $500. I figure if I can get it for $600 or $700 and put $400 or $500 into it, I'll have a pretty good cheap farm truck. How much will these repairs cost? Thanks!!

[hotrod24]

hey i have a 78 1/2 ton the heads i dont know but they should not be hard to change but for the hubs i would get a good pare of warn hubs and the dash pad you can get that from chris on here but sense it is going to be a farm truck i would look on ebay or at a junk yard

[1976Scottsdale]

Heads I would see about getting them off of the engine and having them checked out.  Once a shop magnafluxes them and verifies that they are crack-free and ready for a rebuild, get an estimate or look on ebay and you can get a set for about 300 bucks(about the same as a halfway decent rebuild) Get some .510 lift Z-28 springs, that way you don't have to worry about them binding and breaking again.  Vile knows a lot more about this stuff than me, but I will say stay away from 305 heads.  Also, 400 heads have special holes in them, you need to have them drilled if you buy new ones.

[chicklin]

Heads I would see about getting them off of the engine and having them checked out.  Once a shop magnafluxes them and verifies that they are crack-free and ready for a rebuild, get an estimate or look on ebay and you can get a set for about 300 bucks(about the same as a halfway decent rebuild) Get some .510 lift Z-28 springs, that way you don't have to worry about them binding and breaking again.  Vile knows a lot more about this stuff than me, but I will say stay away from 305 heads.  Also, 400 heads have special holes in them, you need to have them drilled if you buy new ones.

Is this not just a matter of replacing the broken springs?  Or maybe replacing all the springs so that they are all the same?

[Layne]

but I will say stay away from 305 heads.   Whats wrong with the 305s?

[Blazin]

I would replace the spring with the heads on the motor. See what happens, best case is they work fine and have no problems, cheap short labor time fix. Worst case they break again, your out a few $ for the springs, and you have to pull the heads and go through them. Only possible damage is bent push rods, but thats a 50 / 50 thing. Pull them all out and rollthem on a piece of glass or other known almost perfectly flat surface. If they are bent buy a new set.
If you have a compression tester or can use one make up a fitting for the hose and put compressed air into the cylinder to keep the valve from falling down I while you swap the springs. Compress the springs, remove the two little lock keepers, pop the spring retainer off, swap the spring, and reinstall the spring retainer, & the locks.